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Child labour: Children who are meant to be seen and not heard
Child labour is any work that harms a child mentally, physically and socially; it is a common malpractice in several countries. One widespread form of child labour is the domestic child labour which is invisible to people. There are numerous harmful consequences associated with child labour, such as health problems or absenteeism at school. Recently, I came across the article "Harvest is in my blood" which gives an insight on how children are being deprived from their fundamental rights in Indonesia: the right to education. The tobacco industry is one of the largest industry in Indonesia and...
I've been feeling miserable
It's funny how my last post is about feeling better and now I'm writing about how miserable I am, but I feel a strong urge to write about every aspect of my life. The good and the bad. In order for you to understand why I am so miserable, firstly I need to tell you about my backround. I am a 19 year old student studying communication sciences (which was my dream college). Currently I am in a healthy relationship, for the first time, with an phenomenal person. I am living with my brother and sister since my parents moved to Germany to work. I am financially stable and my grades are excellent...
Superfoods or superlies?
Peace shall reign
Marking International Poetry Day (21 March 2020), a group of young poets and Voices of Youth contributors write about the power of peace. Their poems are a cry to end violence against children, and a message of support to the children and youth affected by conflict. Salman is a 21 year old writer, a poet and a motivational speaker from Nigeria, who frequently writes on Voices Of Youth about Culture and Human Rights. You can read his content here. The world is placed for peace and grounds for unity. For people to leave even without kisses but not a piece of a calamity. Now a lot has changed in...
Youth Activism: We Are on a Mission to End Period Poverty
In 2019, the documentary Period. End of Sentence won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short, which revealed the reality of period poverty and stigma in India. Inspired by the film, we dove into our own research of period poverty, which is the lack of access to feminine hygiene products, like pads, tampons, and menstrual cups. Period poverty is a reality for many women across the globe. According to a survey by Plan International UK, one in seven girls aged 14-21 have struggled to afford menstrual products. Period poverty interferes with a girl's education, a survey conducted by the company Always...
Childhood Cancer, a battle of gold
February 15th is commemorated as the international day of fight against childhood Cancer. Declaration that was made in Luxembourg in 2001 and created by the international organization of childhood Cancer, as an objective to raise awareness about the importance of the challenges children and their families face, as well as to promote the importance that all children anywhere in the world have access to accure diagnosis and treatment in time. The golden tie is used as a symbol of courage and strength of gold in the face of this disease, being his un wavering, inspiring and valuable strength. It...
Deathly healthcare
Global Diplomacy in the 21st Century: Game On?
Why does global diplomacy seem to be dwindling right now, at a time when we need it the most? This was the question posed by the Harvard Social Impact Project to high school delegates participating in the 2020 Harvard Model UN Conference. Over 3000 students from all over the world came to discuss world issues and submit their innovative responses to this challenging prompt. Winners are often the only ones who have their projects showcased, but who said we have to go with traditional norms? Here's my project, an essay, which I'm proud to share with the global community of young people. The gist...
To the people with the guns
Marking International Poetry Day (21 March 2020), a group of young poets and Voices of Youth contributors write about the power of peace. Their poems are a cry to end violence against children, and a message of support to the children and youth affected by conflict. Kamogelo is a 17 year old from South Africa with a passion to learn from, inspire and educate anyone who gives her the chance to. She frequently blogs about women’s rights, education and equality on Voices Of Youth. You can read her content here. I dream a dream of playgrounds and lemonade I dream a dream of nights with clear skies...
Is there a future for the world's children?
Despite dramatic improvements in survival, nutrition, and education over recent decades, children like 12-year old Ridhima Pandey, from India, face an uncertain future. “The first time I heard about climate change and global warming was in 2013,” Pandey said. “There was a flash flood that occurred in my home state of Uttarakhand and when that happened, there was a huge destruction. The water level of the Ganges was dangerously high. Every single house was destroyed, land was destroyed and many animals and people died.” Climate change, a phenomenon mostly caused by rising greenhouse gas...
Peace, My Greatest Fantasy
Marking International Poetry Day (21 March 2020), a group of young poets and Voices of Youth contributors write about the power of peace. Their poems are a cry to end violence against children, and a message of support to the children and youth affected by conflict. Fatu Kaba is a 21-year old from Liberia. She is passionate about using entrepreneurship to solve human rights issues such as education, healthcare, women empowerment, poverty, and climate change. She wrote this poem in collaboration with Janetta Konah, a 23 years old Liberian who is passionate about promoting a reading culture in...
Why girls and women should be heard?
Each girl has a voice capable of converting into actions that can transform to the world in a better place. They have the right to be heard! Providing them with education and equal opportunities will make them empowered women who will contribute to the construction of a just, equitable and progressive society.
Lebanon's efforts matter
A girl must follow her dreams- Do not affirm stereotypes
The real danger of the COVID-19: discrimination
In the last months the world experienced once again something terrible. A dangerous virus took over many countries in the world. Many people have been infected, from young adults to old ones. It affected people deeply, hurting them both physically and emotionally. As much as they tried to defend themselves and ignore their frustration, there was no way they couldn’t think about it. No one would have imagined, it could spread at this speed and intensity in all the countries impacted. No one ever thought that in 2020 something like this could still happen, but it did. We are all at risk...
Coronavirus does not justify racism or xenophobia
As of early March, there are close to 90,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in almost 60 different countries. Most of these cases (almost 80,000) are in China. Because of this, and the fact that the infection started in China, Covid-19 fears are being used to fuel Sinophobia and anti-Asian racism at large, as well as xenophobia. This is detrimental for so many reasons; racism is always detrimental. There have been reported cases, particularly in North America, Europe and Asia, of people making racist jokes related to Chinese people and the Coronavirus, putting Asians in quarantine solely on the...
Is Celebrating International Women's Day Sexist?
Everyone probably thinks I am going to write about how Independent, amazing and strong women are. Well. YES and NO. All of our memories of this event go back to the time where we all huddled together on the dirty and dusty school halls during assembly, listening to a never-ending speech given out by the teacher's pet about famous activists, but we all know that it was all copied and pasted from Wikipedia. The thing about International Women's Day is that the concept of having a day dedicated to women. It is wonderful (don't get me wrong, I love the female activists like Malala and Rosa Parks)...
Coronavirus and the toxic “infodemic”
Meddling Kids Movement: telling the stories of grassroots youth activists
My name is Isabel Hope, I am 17-years-old, and I am the Founder of Meddling Kids Movement. When I was younger the phrases "you're too young to understand" and "children should be seen and not heard" were tossed around a lot. For a long time, I felt like I didn't have a voice in what is going on surrounding my future. Then, sometime amazing happened. It would probably be considered revolutionary. I started seeing kids my age speak about what they were passionate about. These kids were standing up for what they believe in and seeing that inspired me to do the same. That's why I created Meddling...